I know, I know.
For most who know me, thatās what I love to do. I love how all of my pieces turn out, both good and bad. Itās the one sure thing that keeps me sane most of the time, a great distraction from the outside world and all of my issues. (Which is not a lot, but you get the point)
About 4 years ago, I made the decision to make crocheting into a businessā¦ letās call it a side hustle. It was a big step for me because it meant putting myself out there, which isnāt always easy since Iām a quiet person by nature.
While it was fun for a moment, I began to notice some of the woes of developing a small side hustle, especially in a predominantly black community.
- Many looove to give suggestions, but never to the point where theyāll support you in terms of buying something. They simply want to give a suggestion, which is not a bad thing, but it does give me the wrong signal sometimes. I canāt tell you how many times people told me to try selling on Etsy or tag me in posts on Facebook. I would take it as āOh they want to buy something,ā but really itās just a suggestion(s).
- Most people want you to make āthisā or āthatā for themā¦ but they really donāt want to buy it. Honestly, it got to a point where I stopped putting pics on Facebook. It starts with me posting a pic of my creations on facebook, then someone will comment saying something like, āMake me this!ā or āCan you make me that????ā Me being someone who will take what people say to heart sometimes, I assumed that they are interested in my services. So I respond with āSureā or āYes, Iāll do it. It will cost ___.ā They are normally okay with it and I began working on it. Then once I make it, Iād notify themā¦ I wonāt hear from them for months or never at all.
- People will cancel an order after you have made the product, or in the midst of making the product. Nothing too wrong with it, but it does bother me after I have gotten finished with making it.
FYI ā For those who are well-established business owners or side hustlers, you probably read a few red flags at this point. I wanna let you know that I now know the error of my ways and I donāt need any comments about it. Thanks!
~Management.
Anyway.
My trust in people began to falter after my last two orders last year. Up to that point I didnāt trust anyone when they said theyāll pay me, including the people who I knew were my best supporters and customers. I doubted everyone when they asked me to make them something. I would always think Girl, they really donāt wanna pay for it. They want it for free. Whatās the point of making it? (I have a whole box of products to prove it.)
Again I say that crocheting was only a side hustle, but I wanted to take it seriously. Plus Iām a perfectionist, so I work hard on it!
Now I wonāt pin this solely on people. I was also most to blame. I didnāt have any idea what it was like to run a side business, even if it was my side hustle that I did occasionally. I will admit that I allowed this to happen. Moreover, I had questions and didnāt know who to turn to other than an author of some book from Amazon, which I never bought and read.
To top it all off, 2017 was not a good year for me mentally and emotionally; yet still I was trying to keep a brave face the entire time and stay hopefulā¦ even though I wanted to cry, which I did sometimes. But did I pick up my crochet hook? Nope, not onceā¦ for myself at least. (I did to teach some awesome people how to crochet and a few other times to make gifts.) What was once a joy to do now became the one sure thing that I wanted to take a break from.
Life and trust issues in people affected my side hustle. I wasnāt mentally nor emotionally there and I didnāt wanna crochet. Now that didnāt mean quitting crocheting altogether, but I really didnāt feel like crocheting. This led to a few unstarted, backed-up requests from a couple of my greatest supporters, which I think about a lot. (If youāre reading this, then Iām very sorry. I shouldāve said something.)
As I look back on last year, I think Iām in a better headspace. Life happens! After following a few people on Facebook with their thriving new ventures, I think Iām ready to try again! Iām not going to put myself out there again just yet in terms of business, but Iām currently doing my research. I did start with making business cards. (Iām not sure if that was a good first start, but at least itās a start!)
Iām not sure if anyone was wondering this, but now you know why I stopped crocheting for a while. Iām starting to crochet again ššš¾ Looking at YouTube videos and pictures when I click on a hashtag motivates me. Iāll be sure to post what I make later.
~Live Laugh Love~